AUD/USD slumps below 0.6900 pressured by risk-off flows

• AUD/USD broke below 0.6900 during American trading hours.
• US Dollar Index advanced above 97 on risk aversion.
• Growing number of confirmed coronavirus cases in US weighs on sentiment.

After falling toward 0.6900 in the early European session, the AUD/USD pair went into a consolidation phase but came under renewed bearish pressure in the American trading hours. As of writing, the pair was down 0.75% on the day at 0.6878.

DXY advances above 97.00

The broad-based USD strength on Wednesday seems to be the primary driver of the pair’s movements. The risk-averse market environment amid coronavirus fears is boosting the demand for the safe-haven greenback. At the moment, the US Dollar Index is up 0.44% on the day at 97.10.

The latest data from the US showed that the confirmed COVID-19 cases in Florida increased by 5.3%, hospitalizations in Texas rose by 7.3% and the coronavirus infections in California jumped to 7,149 from 5,019 on Tuesday. Confirmed the intense flight-to-safety, major equity indexes in the US are losing between 1.3% and 2.45%.

Meanwhile, the only data from the US revealed that the Housing Price Index rose 0.2% in April but was largely ignored by the market participants.

There won’t be any macroeconomic data releases from the US in the remainder of the day and the risk-perception is likely to continue to impact AUD/USD’s movements.

Technical levels to watch for